Nations League Thursday Roundup: Portugal Shine Without Ronaldo as Wales Beat Norway, Germany Win

There was plenty to talk about on and off the pitch across the continent, with Portugal's post-Ronaldo era taking shape in style, a famous first win for Wales, and a winning start for Jurgen Klopp at the third attempt.

In League A Group 4, Portugal beat Denmark 4-2 in Copenhagen in a match that offered a first glimpse of life without Cristiano Ronaldo, who left the camp after being benched in the previous game. Joao Cancelo and Goncalo Ramos twice put Portugal ahead, with Mikkel Damsgaard and Rasmus Højlund levelling each time for Denmark, the latter celebrating with Ronaldo's trademark "Siuuu" in a pointed moment. Vitinha restored the lead with a header from a Bruno Fernandes assist, and Joao Felix added a fourth late on to seal the win. It comes amid a growing rift between Ronaldo and new boss Jorge Jesus, with the striker's camp hinting at more to come on the story in the days ahead.

In the other Group 4 fixture, Wales produced the result of the Craig Bellamy era so far, coming from behind to beat ten-man Norway 2-1 at the Cardiff City Stadium. Oscar Bobb gave Norway an early lead, but Dan James levelled before half time, and Norway were reduced to ten men right at the start of the second half when Torbjørn Heggem was sent off for hauling down James. Neco Williams made them pay instantly with a brilliant curling free-kick to put Wales ahead, and they held on despite late Norwegian pressure, with Erling Haaland unable to find a way past a well-organised Welsh defence. It was Wales's first win over a higher-ranked side under Bellamy and ended a six-game winless run, even if they remain bottom of the group at the midway stage.

In Group 2, Germany picked up their first win under Jurgen Klopp at the third attempt, beating Serbia 2-0 in Munich thanks to goals from Tom Bischof and Florian Wirtz. The game also had a notable landmark, as Celtic's Mika Baur became the 1,000th player to earn a cap for the German men's national team. 

In the other Group 2 game, Greece let a two-goal lead slip against the Netherlands, drawing 2-2 after Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras had the hosts seemingly cruising. Virgil van Dijk headed one back to mark his 99th cap, and substitute Tijjani Reijnders struck a late equaliser to rescue a point for the Dutch, who remain unbeaten in the group alongside Greece. The game also saw Arsenal's Christos Tzolis forced off with injury early on.

Over in League B Group 3, the Republic of Ireland let a two-goal lead slip of their own, drawing 2-2 with Austria at the Aviva Stadium. Troy Parrott scored twice, including a first-half penalty, to put Ireland in control, but Andreas Prass and Michael Gregoritsch struck either side of the 75-minute mark to rescue a point for the visitors. Elsewhere in the same group, Israel and Kosovo played out a goalless draw in Debrecen.

Finally, there were two low-key results in the lower divisions, as Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein drew 0-0 in League D Group 2, while Malta and Gibraltar shared a point in a 1-1 draw in League D Group 1, Gibraltar's Jeremy Scanlon cancelling out an early second-half goal from Malta's Jurgen Mbong.